Voglio vivere Cosí - The Lives of Others

A new project by Cafébabel is starting tomorrow, with quite a symbolic name. Voglio Vivere Così is a collection of 8 stories that describe unique and alternative lifestyles. A sneak peek into a closed world, one which could not be farther. 8 stories for 8 weeks, chosen by the Cafébabel editorial team.

What is the spice of life in an editorial office? For us, it’s inventing unusual editorial projects about wide-ranging themes. And Voglio Vivere Così, our new editorial project, is one of these: an ambitious idea borne from the desire to collect stories of different, alternative and unique lifestyles. Because this is what Voglio Vivere Così means. Italian for “I wanna live in this way”, it’s a collection of unique and alternative tales of what “normality” means across Europe.

It’s something that may be light and positive enough to make you smile, but at the same time different, alternative and engrossing enough to make you miss your metro stop. Something that can be read with calm, in any moment, after a year full of disheartening news. A window into a corner of the world that you probably haven’t seen, thought or considered - one which might only lie 100 metres from your favourite café.

We’ll let you be the judge of the stories that cafébabel will present over the next few weeks. But for now, here’s a sneak preview: Our Polish editor Pawel, for instance, armed with only an old torch taken from a worn bike helmet, ventured into the catacombs of Paris to find out who still lives there in 2017. Sophie can tell you all you need to know about being a freelance journalist that lives in a caravan, because “Who needs a fixed address, if you have to move all the time?” And if you talk with Ana, our Spanish editor, she would probably start with: “Yes, I interviewed the Goat Man. With hooves, horns and grass in his mouth. No, no esta loco, he does it for scientific reasons!”

Curious to check out the rest of the stories? We will start tomorrow, with a new story every Thursday for the next eight weeks. Stay tuned.